All drivers will be limited to 20mph in London’s congested zones in an ambitious new plan to prevent deaths on the capital’s roads.
The reduced limit will be enforced on around six miles of TfL roads in the Congestion Charging Zone within two years.
More than 2,000 people are killed or seriously injured each year and the Mayor, TfL and the Met plan to cut this by 65% by 2022 – with no one killed on or by a bus by 2030.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I don’t accept that deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads are something we just have to put up with.
“Every single death or serious injury results in heartache and tragedy for those affected, and their loved ones.
“Our bold and far-reaching plans are some of most ambitious in the world, and start from the basis that no death or serious injury on London’s roads should be treated as acceptable or inevitable.”
Vision Zero will kit out buses with speed-limiting technology and introduce a new compulsory training course for all bus drivers. It will transform 73 junctions identified as particularly dangerous.
According to the Mayor, a pedestrian hit by a vehicle at 20mph is five times less likely to be killed than if hit at 30mph.
Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove, from the Met’s Road and Transport Policing Command, said: “Excess speed is an undisputed contributor to road collisions in London, and the consequences of these collisions can be devastating for those involved, their families, and communities.”
The initiative has been welcomed by London’s Air Ambulance, RoadPeace and London Ambulance Service.
London is not the first city to introduce a ‘Vision Zero’ plan to eliminate serious traffic-related accidents. Toronto and New York City already have similar plans in place with the same name.
The Vision Zero plan is available to view here.
